Danishes and Confessions
by java2guzzle
Summary: Lorelai hears from an old flame and isn't sure how to tell Luke. But, he has a confession of his own...


**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything to do with Gilmore Girls although I enjoy watching the show very much. _I do own the first season DVDs and in December I'll own the second season! Yay!_

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Thanks so much for the kind reviews. It was hard to post 'my baby' so I'm glad you guys are so supportive! I had to edit some spelling mistakes and grammar problems so I reposted. It's still not perfect.

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Lorelai sighed as she walked toward the town center. She had a heavy feeling like something was pushing down on her – heavy like anvils. Anvils! Maybe that's where they've all gone – they died and are now come to haunt me and rest on my shoulders and drag me down. Anvils – hee.

Just then Kirk ran by in a dog costume with a pack of small dogs chasing him. "Help! Help! _I'm_ supposed to be in charge here!"

Lorelai broke into a smile and almost started to follow – this was sure to be entertaining. Then she remembered. She sighed again. There was no point putting this off. It would just make it worse. That's what Rory said, and she was probably right. It's just not fair. Things were going SO well with Luke. She blushed thinking about their last date. She felt so happy: the way he looked at her made her stop breathing, and her heart did funny leaps. She never thought he'd look at HER that way. She started to feel warm thinking about it, and got that goofy grin that was apparently so annoying – according to Sookie and Rory.

The bell dinged as she walked into the diner and Luke looked up. She beamed at him. "God, he's so handsome," she thought. "Why didn't I see him this way before?" _Maybe you did once or twice, a small voice said in her head_.

She walked up to the counter and began the daily ritual. "Good morning, kind sir. Care to help a damsel in distress?"

He crossed his arms, "No Danishes left."

"What?!" she gasped. "But, it's Danish day! It's the best day of the week! It makes the other days jealous because of its perfection! It's the day that makes the other days worth getting through! I mean, every morning it's like: 'Why get up? Why not stay in bed and let life go on without me?' You know why Luke? It's because Danish day is coming and every day I get up brings me closer to Danish day... and now you say there are no Danishes? Oh my God!"

Luke smiled, "I can offer you a bran muffin – there are blueberries in them today... You like blueberries."

"What? What? I can't believe what I'm hearing! First no Danishes and now you're boasting about the methods you use to torture blueberries - the holiest of fruits?!" Lorelai was actually starting to get a little concerned. Usually he gave in and handed over the Danish after her first rant – maybe he was really out!

"Well, Lorelai, in the future you should plan to get into the Diner a little earlier if the Danish is such an important fixture in your week. Or you could quit talking up Danish day around town since apparently the good word has been getting out and we had a rush on them this morning."

She looked at him dumbfounded. "But, but, but I was tired this morning! I tried to get in early, I..." Damn! Why did she loiter in the town square with the whole anvil thought process?

He arched an eyebrow, "Why so tired this morning?"

She blushed. "You know why mister, and if you ever have plans to see me tired in the morning in the future you should perhaps think about the repercussions of a lack of Danishes on Danish Day!"

He smiled and reached under the counter. "You know, I might have just one left. I was saving it in case any cute chicks came in this morning that I might be interested in impressing, but since I had no luck in that area you might as well take it..." He handed it to her and walked back into the kitchen. She was floored. I've never seen him so, so – God, so much fun! God, he's the greatest.

He came back out carrying a couple plates. She grinned at him between sips of coffee. He turned a little red. He looks so happy! "I'm so happy," she thought while taking a bite of her Danish. "Why didn't I feel happy this morning?" she wondered as she watched him deliver the orders. Then it came rushing back and she felt the anvil move to the pit of her stomach. She sighed and looked into her coffee cup.

Luke watched her from across the room while laughing to himself. "This is so great," he thought, "I can't believe she bought it for so long. Usually she figures it out right away. She _must_ be tired!" He grinned and quickly hid it. Then he saw her face fall. Uh oh.

She looked up to see Luke perch on the stool beside her. "Is everything OK?" he asked. "I'm sorry if I um, I mean, after all I DO have a vested interest in your health – is it wrong to try and sneak healthy foods into you once and awhile? I mean, bran muffins are really tasty and..." She still wasn't smiling. Uh oh.

"Luke, can you grab a break for a minute?" She asked seriously and nervously. "Nothing's wrong!" she quickly said at the look on his face, "I mean I don't think anything's wrong – I just have news. Not necessarily bad news, I mean..." she sighed.

"Two minutes?" she begged.

He got up and lifted the curtain to his apartment gesturing with his left hand, "ladies first." She grabbed her Danish and preceded him up the stairs.

She stood back to let him open the door of his apartment and then brushed close by him walking through the door. She loved the tingly feeling she got whenever she was this near to him. She shot him a look that made him quickly shut the door, grab her waist, and pull her closer. "Hey! Watch the Dani..." He kissed the last word away as her heart started doing that funny thumping she liked so much. He pulled away, "Hmmm, I think I'm beginning to see why Danish day is so popular... You taste delicious." He bent his head back down to her lips and they kissed a little more urgently. At some point Lorelai dropped the Danish behind his back as she reached up to put her hands in the back of his hair. She smiled against his lips as his ballcap slipped off to the side and fell on the floor. She tugged a handful of his hair making him gasp. He stepped backward up against the door pulling her with him. She leaned against him and pushed herself higher up on her toes. That's when she stepped in the Danish.

"AH! Yuck!" The jam part went right in the front part of her new strappy sandals into her toes. She pushed herself backward off Luke and looked at the floor. "Yuck, yuck, squishy yuck! Toe jam!"

Luke looked down and burst out laughing as she gave him a dirty look. At her look he laughed harder. She started to smile but remained stern, "Luke – these are new shoes! This isn't funny!" He stopped laughing long enough to say, "So, I take it that they don't feel as good as they look and taste. You have found the limit of Danish pleasure."

"Well," she countered, "when I bought these sexy new shoes this wasn't quite the reaction I was hoping for when I wore them for you..."

He was still chuckling as he went to the sink to get the dishcloth. He came back and kneeled down and carefully took her shoe off. He looked up mischievously. "Should I just lick this off?" She squeaked and whipped her foot out of his hand. "Hmm, is she ticklish?" he wondered, "good to know for later..."

She hopped over to the table and sat down on the chair and wiped her foot with a tissue as he wiped the floor. She was a little depressed about losing the Danish, let alone messing up her shoe. "Oh well, I guess that kiss was worth a few causalities," she thought to herself.

He sat down in the chair beside her. "Did you really want to talk to me or is 'two minutes' your secret code today?"

She smiled half-heartedly, "You mean like the blue dog barked at midnight, or should I say blue Kirk..." she snapped her mouth shut. Don't babble, don't babble.

She looked up at Luke, "I'm just going to say this because that's the best way to do these things." She took a breath, "after you left last night I had a phone call. From Christopher."

She looked at him, but his expression didn't seem to change so she ploughed ahead, "He said he's coming into the area on business and he wanted to stop by and talk to me and it sounded serious but he wouldn't say on the phone but he said everyone's fine and not to worry about anyone being sick but he had news he wanted to tell me to my face because he has something important to talk to me about and after he hung up I started thinking because you know I know him pretty well and I think it's trouble at home and if I know Chris, and I know Chris, he's probably pulling a classic Chris and running away and gee – guess who he's running to... But, things aren't the same here – I mean things have changed here with us – and I'm not sure if I want to see him, but I feel like I have to because he's Rory's dad and he's a part of our lives even if he's not and I don't know how you feel and..." she ran out of breath and tapered off as he sat back in his chair and sighed.

"Luke?" He looked at her. "I just wanted to talk to you about this because I don't want you to misunderstand..." There was silence for a minute.

"Well," he said, "I've thought about this happening."

"You have?" she said.

"Yeah, I mean he's Rory's father and no matter what he's going to be around and I thought about how I feel about that."

"And?"

"Well," he sighed again, "OK, let me be honest. I guess I don't have the greatest opinion of the guy. I mean I'm sure he's nice enough and charming and whatever it is that guys like that have that make women let him..."

He paused – no need to take that path. He stood up and paced a bit then turned to look at her, "Look Lorelai, I've seen you time and again after he's let you down. I see how much that hurts you and it makes me really angry in a helpless kind of way. I mean I've watched him act like a real jerk. Not just to you, but to Rory too. I mean, what was with him not coming to her graduation? I mean doesn't he even realize the incredible kid he has? God! He totally takes you two for granted."

He paused and paced a bit more trying to be calm and rational. "You girls are the most wonderful...," he stopped then started again, "it kills me that he treats you like this and you're so generous and you always let him back to see Rory because you're just like that and I really admire you. You've always been supportive in his role as father even 'though he's really let you down and hasn't even taken advantage of the door to Rory that you always kept open."

He continued pacing and ran his hand through his hair. She was just sitting there looking at him, kind of amazed. Is that the way he saw her? She suddenly felt kind of proud and mature.

"But, then I started thinking about Jess." He continued. "I mean your relationship with Chris is kind of like mine with Jess..."

She raised her eyebrows.

"I mean not really, but, well, you know what I mean," he looked at her and continued, "Jess never did anything to endear himself to you. He hurt the person most important to you by running off to California."

"Luke," she interrupted, "he hurt the_ two_ people most important to me," she said quietly.

"I know," he said, "that's what I mean, in a way. You saw me after Jess and I had the argument that time. I mean, I came over a little tipsy..."

"Tipsy?" she laughed.

"Well, you know," he said, "then when you were supposed to be getting non-Barbie Band-Aids but instead you took off after him and really gave him crap about hurting me."

"How did you know about that?" she asked, surprised.

He looked at the ceiling and shook his head. "You yelled in front of Gypsy and half the town square, Lorelai." He smiled, "thanks 'though."

"My pleasure," she waved her hand dismissively.

"But, I have to tell you that no matter what he's said in the past and how much it might have hurt, I'm still going to give him chances. I told him last time he was here that the door is open, and he's always welcome in my life."

She looked at the table, her face carefully free of expression.

He looked a little rueful. "I wasn't sure how to tell you that. I guess I can imagine how you feel about him. You've had to sit around and watch time and again as he's hurt the people closest to you and you feel helpless because you can't make it better and you can't understand why we keep cutting him slack."

"Yeah," she whispered. God he was always doing this. He wouldn't say anything for so long and just listen to her – and then he'd open his mouth and say exactly what she was thinking.

"Well," she asked, "what do we do now?"

"Nothing, I guess," he said, "we just do the best we can with our families. It's not like we get to drive to the mall and pick out better ones."

She smiled a bit as Luke returned to the chair he had vacated. He picked up her hand again, "you have to know that no matter what I'm there for you."

"And I'm there for you too" she quickly interrupted.

He smiled, "Yeah. You'll be there to help pick up the pieces when I try to be civil to Chris and fail and when I try not to get jealous but do anyway..."

She looked up and added, "and you'll be there when I try to be nicer to Jess but end up calling him a punk then and run off to find you and tear his character to shreds until I get you defensive..."

"Seriously," he interrupted, "I'll try my best..." He looked at her expectantly as she sighed. "I'll try with Jess," she blinked a bit as she looked at him, "but it'll be hard, Luke."

"I know," he said, "it'll probably get easier with practice," and he rubbed his thumb along the side of her hand. "Cheer up, crazy lady," he smiled, "I might have another Danish hiding around the diner somewhere in case any beautiful, greedy women wander in and flirt with me."

She just shook her head, "How do you do it? How do you know what I'm thinking before I do? How do you know what to say to make it all better? I gotta tell ya it's a bit spooky Luke."

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Did I ever mention that you come in here every damn day?"


End file.
